by Dr Will @ Iconic

With the advent of sophisticated inbound marketing platforms like HubSpot and resources offered by the Content Marketing Institute, we might be led to believe that there is no longer a need for cold calling or cold emailing.

If your business's processes cover everything from maintaining data consistency to creating and keeping sales reports, you know how challenging data management can be. An integrated business solution can streamline operations across departments, but this kind of system may sound too complicated to deal with on a daily basis, especially in a fast-paced retail environment. New data integration technology can manage some processes automatically, making these systems simpler and more user-friendly -- not to mention profitable in the long run.

Our final post in this series brings us to the topic of data security in restaurants, where, all too often, credit cards go missing, numbers get stored in the wrong place, or both. Not only do you have to keep a vigilant eye on how sensitive data is being handled, but also where it is stored and the strength of the storage’s security. According to Radiant Systems, the cost of a data security breach is enough to disrupt your business, with the credit card brands charging fining you anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000. It happens often enough to scare some would-be restaurant owners away from the idea. Needless to say, it pays to keep everything locked tight and out of sight.

We live in the era of fast and furious transactions, where hype is king and customer service is often lacking. The average retail customer faces frustrations at every turn — no enticing discounts to be had, service coming at a crawling pace (if at all), missing items that were promised to be held in layaway... The list goes on.

High-touch and high-tech. Customers are coming to expect these two service qualities more and more in their consumer experiences, and that trend is not going to go away. On the contrary, retailers and service providers who excel in providing both highly-personalized and high-tech experiences to their customers will stand out, winning customer loyalty and getting an edge on their competition.

Black Friday 2013 has come and gone. The Christian Science Monitor has an interesting article outlining the nitty gritty details of one of 2013's biggest shopping holidays (nightmares?) of the year. We have re-posted it here for your reading enjoyment!

November is the month of turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and - let's not forget - it's one of the busiest shopping months of the year. Here are 13 tech tips for streamlining your holiday shopping this year:

In lieu of the five Iconic things, places or persons we name traditionally on every other Friday, we will give five bits and pieces of advice for you, the humble retailer, to consider. Yes, even country clubs count, as some departments follow the same rhythm and flow as their bigger (and smaller) brick-and-mortar counterparts. Without further ado...

Iconic BMS is dedicated to helping you make your brewery Iconic ... by providing the techniques and technology to improve your operational excellence.

Your brewery is focused, as it should be, on your beer and your customers. The "business of the brewery" is that set of activities common to all businesses that make your organization effective and efficient. Improvements in the "business of the brewery" help you improve by freeing resources to focus on what is most important - the Customer ... and the beer!

This blog will cover more than just techniques and technology, though. Included will be all manner of information that takes a brewery from fantastic to Iconic.